Most senior military leaders feel confident that their transition will be smooth. They know their background and skill sets are valuable and that their skills will be recognized by the defense industry, government agencies, and their contractors. May times they worked alongside those already employed in a leadership role within these industries.

No matter who you are or the rank or title you hold, as you face the prospect of making a career move, here are a few of the critical questions you must be able to answer.

• “How is my long-term value defined in the non-defense sector?”
• “How do I communicate that value to target companies?”
• “How do I bridge the gap between what I don’t know about them and what they don’t know about me?”
• “How do I compete with civilian counterparts who are also competing for a position I am seeking?

As a senior-level military or government leader, you realize that you must develop and execute a well-thought-out transition strategy that seamlessly integrates you into a high-level, sustainable position matching the quality of your current military leadership experience.

Consider shifting your thinking from “mission and duty” to a “profit and loss” oriented framework. This will place you much closer to long-term success in today’s civilian marketplace. One of the objectives is to determine how to translate your high-level defense and national security expertise into corporate skills employers highly value.

Proper presentation of your skills and companies encourages companies to be open to negotiating a better package with you. Your goal is to not leave money on the table. Another goal is to position yourself for long-term, increasing value in the marketplace and ease the struggle of communicating your value to reach a comfortable retirement status.

The video below is Craig “Bluto” Baker, USAF Brig Gen (Ret.) speaking about the challenges of transition from the armed services to the civilian
sector.